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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. march — music
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bulb — for light
  6. march — the month
  7. staff — employees
  8. fork — in a road
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bore — to tire
  11. clip — a video
  12. degree — an amount
  13. scale — in music
  14. degree — from a university
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. degree — temperature
  19. march — the month
  20. bore — to drill
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. scale — size or range
  23. clip — to cut
  24. fork — a garden tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com